#AP #APWorldHistory #History

Context

2.1 The Silk Roads
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Essential Question

What was the causes and effects of the growth of networks of exchange after 1200?

What about them?

The Silk Roads were a network of trade routes, rather than well defined roads, that not only allowed for transportation of goods, but also helped spread a lot of ideas cultures, and technologies. It facilitated interactions between the East and West, between Europe, Africa and Asia. Its legacy can still be seen in the connections countries have today.

Why the name?

The Silk Roads got their name because it started with silk, a very valuable good at the time. Simply said, it was the most famous commodity.

How did it originate?

It was simply old routes of the Roman Empire and Han Dynasty that were revitalized by Arab merchants in the Abbasid Empire in the 8th and 9th centuries.

Why did it boom during the time? Why did global trade really develop?
  • The Tang Dynasty was a financial monster, they were really ready to take their goods to the market and make money out of it.
  • The Mongol Empire also had impact since it unified and regulated the Silk Roads, making it safer and organized.
  • The Crusaders also were clients for the Silk Roads, especially since Marco Polo created hype for Eastern merchandise in Europe.
About the Crusades

The Crusaders didn't really go that far, their influence was mostly caused by the Merchants of Venice.

Misconception

Both land routes and maritime routes are referred to when talking about the Silk Roads.

Diseases

Diseases were spread through the Silk Roads. eg.: Black Death.

Mahayana Buddhism Buddhism was very spread out through the Silk Roads.

Improvements in Transportation Networks
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Chinese Development of Paper Currency
  • Allowed you to not have to carry heavy coins and also helped you not being robbed.
  • Credit systems called flying cash in c.800 (Bill of exchange).
  • Developed in Tang Dynasty but popularized and instituted during Song Dynasty.
  • They used seals, seals are very serious in Asia; but anyways, they were still developing it, so maybe security measures weren't perfect.
  • Banking Houses (c.200 bce)

2.2 The Mongol Empire
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The idea of Myth vs. History: What are the perceived understanding of a group and what are the realities; were the Mongols that fierce? There are just so many tales about them, and the Europeans might have written based on myths of them.
Religious freedom on the Mongol empire

Ghengis Khan, founder of the Mongol empire, allowed for freedom of religion, allowing for diversity of cultures to grow on the Mongol empire. And was also very adapting and liberal.

The fall of the Mongol empire

Even though it was such a big empire, such adaptation and liberalism made them transform into something else, they were so open to other ways that they simply converted into a different thing, and stopped being the Mongols. Such as conversion to Islam. So in short, the Mongols themselves did not disappear or died, they were simply so open that they just changed what they were.

Economics

They brought the third golden age of the The Silk Roads, they brought better security.

Conquest

They would kill the leadership, and put the peasantry under roles. Such as their military. What was very advantageous to them, is that they were smart enough to capture the strengths from the right people, they basically would spread people

How was the Mongol military set up?

For the military, they had a system where they would have military units of sizes such as 10, 100, and 1000. The way they would set it up is everytime they got new armies from conquered empires, they would separate them into different units so that they wouldn't know the other people they were with, and thus, were less likely to rebel, since you would be a minority. And also, everytime there was any attempt at rebellion, they would kill the entire unit, which incentivized the people on the units themselves to kill anyone who wanted to rebel so that way they would not be killed. This system also helped spread a diversity of skills throughout their military units.

Mass rapes

There are myths about mass rapes, which would explain how Ghengis Khan would have spread his DNA, since so many people in the world have his genes.


2.3 Exchange in the Indian Ocean
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Essential Question

What were the causes and effects of the growth of networks after 1200, and how did environmental knowledge support that expansion?

The Indian Ocean Routes

The largest sea-based exchange system, unlike the Silk Roads, it also traded a lot of non luxury goods because of the cheaper price of transport through sea rather than camels. Think of the Indian Ocean as more of an entity, very separate from western Africa.

The Spread of Islam

Arab merchants have existed long before Islam, and thus, had traded along the Indian Ocean long before the spread of Islam.

Calicut and Cambay Rose economicaly in a relatively undeveloped area of South Asia.

Indian Ocean Slave Trade

You start to see human trafficking, the trade of slaves was very common in the area.

Monsoon Winds

Knowledge on the Monsoon Winds allowed Trade to happen more efficiently.

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Demand for Specialized Products
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Malacca (Melakaka)
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Singapore got a lot of its wealth, historically, from the Strait of Malacca.

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Financial Success

Because of its very favorable geography, whoever controlled the Strait of Malacca would gain huge wealth. That was due to the fact of the huge amount of trade networks that passed through it; allowing whoever had it to tax the traders who passed there.

History

After the Sultanate of Malacca, Portugal took over the strait, and then the U.K.

South Asia
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Calicut

A significant port in the South of the Indian Subcontinent

Cambay

The port city of the successful Rajput kingdom of Gurajat.

Swahili Coast Civilizations
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Kilwa
Mombasa
Zanzibar

Swahili means coast, so Swahili people means Coastal people. So you say Coast Coast.

The Swahili Language

Communication was formed from the people who frequented the place so there are influences from Arabic and Islamic languages.

Merchants in Diasporic Communities
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  • Muslim - China, Indian Ocean Basin, Europe.
  • Chinese - Southeast Asia, Africa.
  • Sogdian - Silk Road stops, China.
  • Jewish - China, India, Europe.
  • Malay - Sri Lanka.

2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
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What was the Trans-Saharan Network?

A series of Trade routes that connected North Africa and the Mediterranean world with the interior of West Africa and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa.

Origin

Just like most trade routes it had existed long before the 1200, but they expanded around this time.

Causes for this Expansion

The main reason it was able to expand on such a harsh terrain was because of technological innovations, such as the Arabian Camels. Along with that there was also new Saddles that allowed for more to be carried in a more comfortable way, along with Caravanserai.

Diversity

Because the area was so diverse, each region specialized in creating and growing various goods, and that difference created a demand to trade with each other. Thus, opening an opportunity for the expansion of those trade networks.

The growth of the Mali Empire happened during this moment due to its involvement in the Trans-Saharan trade.

In general, both the Aksum Empire, and the Mali Empire were very important at the time.


2.5 Cultural Consequences of Connectivity
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Cultural Diffusion

One of the most important effects of trade was the spread of ideas and cultural traits, which is called cultural diffusion. And because all states were interconnected in some way, what one did, affected the rest.

Facilitation of Interregional Travels

The better structuring of the trading networks allowed for safer travels in general, with things such as the Mongol Empire defending trade routes.

As merchants traveled around their world, they also bhrought and received technology and ideas.

Spread of Culture and Technology
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Buddhism

Buddhism spread through The Silk Roads from India to East Asia, and thus, changed over time, such as with the merchants explaining it through terms of Chinese Taoism. Resulting in syncretism and into something called Chan Buddhism.

Islam

The Spread of Islam was also important as it really valued merchants. When you were converted into it you had access a huge Muslim Network of trade.

Translation of Works

Muslim Scholars translated and commented on classical works of Greek and Roman phylosophy in Baghdad's House of Wisdom, which would later go into the Reinassance.

Scientific and Technological Innovations
  • Chinese Paper-Making technology spread to Europe 13th Century
  • Movable type arrived in Europe and increased Literacy
  • Gunpowder spread from the Mongol Empire and was adapted by Islamic and European Empires.

Expansion of Cities
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City expansion

For all these cities, the increased influence resulted in an increased productivity in them.

Hangzhou Became one of China's most significant trading cities, which bhrought huge urbanization.

Samarkand and Kashgar Facilitated trade along The Silk Roads.

Decline of Cities
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Invasions

Most cities that declined during this period did so due to military invasions from other empires and states.

Important Travelers
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How did they travel?

Their travels were mostly possible due to the Trade Routes.


2.6 Environmental Consequences of Connectivity
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Main Consequences

The diffusion of agriculture and diseases.

Diffusion of Agriculture
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A lot of new Crops were introduced to different places through the trade networks.

Bananas

Bananas were originally in Southeast Asia, but thanks to the Indian Ocean trade, they got introduced to Africa which caused a bunch of population growth.

Champa Rice

Introduced to China from the Champa Kingdom in Vietnam. It matured quickly and was dhrought resistant. Due to Champa Rice China had a lot of food, which meant population growth.

Diffusion of Diseases
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Bubonic Plague

It erupted in northern China and travelled rapidly through The Silk Roads and Indian Ocean trade routes. It was easily spread through Caravanserai, ship cargo, etc.


2.7 Comparison of Economic Exchange
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Similarities Among Networks of Exchange
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Differences Among Networks of Exchange
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Building an Argument around Comparison
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Eg.: Develop an argument that evaluates the extent to which the various networks of exchange were similar between and .

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